Record verifying machine



May 5, 1936.- R. 1.. PALMER RECORD VERIFYING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15,1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l AT'TQRNEY \wwu NQE y 1936- R. L. PALMER 2,039,832

RECORD VERIFYING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13, 1933 FIGS;

45 49 INVENTOR ATTQRN EY Patented May 5, 1936 I UNITED: STATES PATENOFFICE 2.939.832 nnoonn "vnnmrmo MACHINE Ralph L. Palmer, Endicotg- ,Yassignor'to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporationof New York Application September 13,1933, S:erial No.689,275

8 Claims. (o1. '13- 51)"; g

This invention relates to certain newand useful improvements inverifying machines.

In tabulating machine work, data are tabulated by punchingdifferentially spaced holes on record cards. A machine for carrying outthe punching operation may be the Schaafll machine shown in Patent No.1,134,018. In this machine the punching operation is performed bydepressing certain keys. Operators using the machine 10 sometimesdepress the wrong key and incorrect data are then recorded on the cardin the form of incorrectly located perforations. It has heretofore beenfound that the punched cards must be checked to determine if any errorshave been made. Often this checking is done by a visual inspection ofthe cards, but this method of checking has been found unsatisfactory asthe checker is liable to make the same error that was originally made bythe operator who punched the card. Also the visual checking is a tediousand time consuming operation.

The present invention is directed to a ma-,

ward one step for the depression of .each key,

but if a punch hole is incorrectly spaced in the card, or if a hole ismissing, a signal lamp indicates the presence of the error.

Heretofore in verifying machines mechanical and electrical devices havebeen employed to separately and physically explore each index-- pointposition of a card column in verifying position with a consequentduplication of sensing elements and controlled devices. One of the ob-Jects of the present invention is to provide a single light sensitivecell for simultaneously scanning all positions of a card column fordetermining the correctness of theperforations in said column.

In its preferred form the invention consists of a light sensitive cellwhich receives light through perforations in the card if such arepresent or none if the column is blank. A keycontrolled shutter isprovided for each indexpoint position of the card columns and eachpunching position is adapted to be covered by 55 itsshutter when thecorresponding key is oping is exceedingly rapid and the possibility'oferated, thereby cutting of! the light to the cell through theperforation, if one is present. A pair of thermionic tubes is controlledin accordance with the action of the light sensitive cell and each tubecontrols a relay in such manner 5 that one of the relays is responsiveto the absence of light directed against the cell while the other isresponsive to a change in the amount'of light directed against the cell.

When a perforation is sensed bythe cell the 10 first relay will beenergized. If the correspond ing key is then operated and the lightthrough the perforation cut' oil by a shutter, the second relay willcause a signal lamp to be momentarily illuminated and then extinguishedand the card 1 5 carriage will escape to the next column.

If the incorrect key is depressed, or if the perforation is in the wronglocation the said relay will not be operated, the signal lamp willremain illuminated and ;escapement of the carriage pre- 20 vented.

. If the perforation is missing and the column incorrectly left bIankthe signal lamp will be illuminated upon depression of the key and willremain lighted. 7

Various other objects and advantages of my invention will be obviousfrom the following particular description of one form of mechanismembodying the invention or from an inspection of the accompanyingdrawings, and the inventionalso constitutes certain new and novelfeatures of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter setforth and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a central section through the device.

Fig. 2 is a'detail of parts in Fig. 1, shown in moved position.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the carriage escapement mechanism.

- Fig. 4 is a section taken along lines 4-4 of 40 Fig. 1.

i Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram of the electric circuits of the device.

Card feeding mechanism In the accompanying drawings in Fig. 1, theperforated card i0. is inserted between a card pusher ii and a forwardguide l2 with the first column of the card coinciding with the commoncenter line of light sensitive cell l3 and lamp I4. The filament of lampI 4 lies parallel to the column of index-point positions of the record(see Fig. 4) and the cell I3 is similarly located so thatlight passingthrough a perforation in any position will fall upon the cell at a pointabove the hole.

The pusher II and guide l2 are attached to the carriage rack l5 which issuitably supported and guided by rollers l6 which cooperate with railstructure l1 secured to the frame of the machine. The rack |5 has teethcut in its lower edge meshing with a gear l8 upon whose axis is mounteda spring barrel l9 which through connection to the gear l8 tends to urgethe rack |5 toward the left.

A suitable escapement mechanism including a holding pawl 20 (Fig. 3) anda stepping pawl 2| cooperates with ratchet'shaped teeth 22 cut in theupper edge of carriage rack [5 to permit step-by-step advance thereof.The normal position of the pawls 2|), 2| is shown in Fig. 3. A shaft 23when rocked in a counter-clockwise direction will tilt a double-armedlever 24 carried at one end thereof. Lever '24 has a pin 25 in one armwhich extendsinto a notch in pawl 28 and a pin 26 in its other arm whichextends into an enlarged opening in pawl 2|. As the shaft 23 and lever24 are rocked, the pin 25 will lower pawl 20 into engagement with atooth 22 to hold rack IS in position while pin 26 raises pawl 2| out ofcooperation with the bar. Pawl 2! is loosely mounted on shaft 23 withsufllcient clearance so that upon return of lever 24 to its initialposition, pawl 2| will be drawn slightly to the right by its spring 21and the next tooth on the rack will engage the end of the 'pawl.

In Fig. 1 shaft 23 carries an arm 28, connected through link 29, bellcrank 36, and link 3| to the armature of escapement magnet 32 in suchmanner that for each operation of the armature, shaft 23 will beoscillated to permit the card carriage to advance one step and the cardcolumns will thus be successively presented to the analyzing position.

Link 3| carries a screw 44 which is adapted to cause opening of a pairof contacts 45 when the link moves toward the right.

Shutter mechanism connection with a plunger 31, mounted for verticalmovement and in turn, having connection with an arm of a bell'crank 38.The other arm of the bell crank 38 has pin and slot connection 39 with ashutter '48 which is suitably mounted for horizontal movement.Energization of a magnet 33 will, through the connection just described,shift its associated shutter 40 toward the left from the position shownin Fig. 1 to that in Fig. 2 where the leading end covers the index-pointposition of the record column and cuts off the light from lamp H at suchposition. Each shutter 40 carries a spring pressed latch 4| which, whenthe shutter is advanced, will snap over a ball 42 supported byescapement shaft 23. Rocking of shaft 23 to effect an advance of 'thecarriage will rock ball 23 to release latch 4| and permit shutter 40 tobe retracted by its restoring spring 43. A pair of contacts 31a islocated beneath each plunger 31 and is closed thereby and held closedwhile shutter 48 remains in advanced position.

Wiring diagram The various conditions which may exist to affect theoperation, of the machine will now be explained inconneetion with thewiring diagram of Fig. 5 in which a plurality of keys 46, one for eachindex point position, are diagrammatically represented. Each key isadapted to close a pair of contacts 41. Current is supplied to lines '48and 49 from a suitable source S and a separate battery 50 suppliescurrent for the light sensitive 5 cell and thermionic tubes 5| and 52. 1Tube 5| is direct-coupled and adjusted to energize a relay magnet 53 inits plate circuit when a predetermined amount of light falls upon cell i3. That is, when reflected or direct light from extraneous sources, suchas through the casing of the machine falls upon the cell l3, relay 53remains energized. When light from lamp |4 falls upon the cell throughperforations in the card, the tube 5| is actuated to causedeenergization of relay 53.

Tube 52 is capacity-coupled and operates independently of the absoluteamount of light on the* cell l3 but is excited by changes in the amoimtof light incident upon the cell A relay 54 is included in the platecircuit of tube 52 and is accordingly energized when a change ordecrease in the amount of light on cell l3 occurs.

Specifically, relay 53 is deenergized when light passes through aperforation and is energized when all such light is cut off, either bythe shutters or because no perforations are present in the column beinganalyzed. Relay 54 is energized when the cell I3 is initially activateddue to the presence of a perforation and the light is then cutoff by theshutter or shutters.

Correct perforations The manner in which the device functions to verifyperforations will now be explained for the condition where the keydepressed corresponds to the location of the perforation in the column.Assume that there is .a perforation in the 12 index-point position andthat the "12 key 46 is depressed. Immediately upon the presentation ofthe column containing this 12 perforation the relays 53, 54, 55, 56 and51 will all. be deenergized and their related contacts will be in thepositions illustrated in Fig. 5.

Relay 53 is deenergized due to the incidence of light from lamp on cell|3 through the 12 hole. The operator then depresses the 12 key 46 and acircuit will be completed from line 48, wire 58, 12 magnet 33, 12contacts 41, wire 59, normally closed contacts 56b of relay magnet 56,wire 68, relay magnet 51, to line 49. Magnet 51 closes itscontacts 514:to set up a holding circuit from line 48, release key contacts 6|,contacts 6 51a, contacts 56b, wire 60, magnet 51 to line49.

' Magnet 51 also closes its contacts 51b to complete and 54 and acircuit will then be traceable as follows: from line 48, contacts 45,relay magnet 55, wire 63,, contacts 54a, wire 64, contacts 531:, wire 65to line 49. Since the energization of magnet 54 is but momentary, asecond pair of contacts is provided as indicated at 545 which complete acircuit from line 49, wire 66, relay magnet 56, contacts 54b, wire 61,wire 59, "12 contacts .311: (latched closed at this time due to theadvanced position of 12 shutter 49) wire 68 to line 48.

Magnet 58 closes contacts 56a which bridge contacts 54b so that theabove circuit is held until 7,5

cont'acts 31a are opened under action of the escapement controlmechanism.

Magnet 55, energized as traced above closes its contacts 550. to set upits own holding circuit from line 48, contacts.45, magnet 55, wire 63,contacts 55a to line 49. A second pair of contacts 55b completes theescapement magnet circuit as fol- Hole in wrong position.-'Ihe nextcolumn is now in analyzing position and if a perforation is present,relay magnet 53 is deenergized as before and verifying will take placealso as before if the corresponding key is depressed. If the hole ispunched in a position other than that in which it should occur or if theverifying operator depresses the wrong key, the shutter 40 advanced willnot interrupt the light passing through the ,32 for the purpose ofreleasing the latched shutter 40.

If the error was occasioned by the verifying operator due to depressionof the wrong key the depression of keys I and II will advance the cardto the next column and verifying may then be continued.

Hole omitted-If the perforation to be verified has been erroneouslyomitted, analysis of the column will first cause energization of relaymagnet 53 and the subsequent depression of a key 45 will effect theillumination of-lamp 62 and the setting up of the holding circuittherefor. 7

Extra hole-If in addition to a correctly located perforation there is asuperfluous'perforation in another index-point position of the samecolumn, the relay magnet 53 will not become energized upon depression ofthe key corresponding to the correct hole since the cell l3 will stillreceive light through the extra hole. The escapement circuit tracedabove. can. therefore not be completed, and the lamp 5! will remainilluminated.

Blank columns To verify a blank colum that is, to ascertain that noperforations have been made in a column that should be unpunched, key 13is depressed when the blank column is-in analyzing position. Since nolight is passing through the card, relay magnet 53 is energized and itscontacts 53a are closed, and a circuit can therefore be completed fromline 48, contacts 45, magnet 55, wire 53, contacts 14 of key 13,contacts 53a, to line 49. The escapement magnet is subsequentlyenersized in the now familiar manner and the card is advanced to thenext position.

Automatic column skipping Frequently where the punched. columns tobeverified are separated from one another by blank columns and it is notdesired to verify such blank columns, closure of a switch 15 will causethe same to be automatically skipped in the following manner. Uponarrival of any blank column in analyzing position, alllight from lamp I4will be cut oil. from cell l3 and consequently relay magnet 53 willimmediately become energized and a circuit completed from line 48,contacts 45, magnet 55, wire 53, switch 15, contacts 53a, to line 49.

'Mag'net 55 will close its points 55b to energize the escapement .magnet32 and the card will thereupon be advanced to the next column. If thisc'olumn is also blank, the automatic escaping action will be repeated,and will continue until a columnis reached in which there is aperforation.

In the preferred form illustrated, keys 46 are arranged for distantcontrol of the machine, that is, they may be located at a point remotefrom the actual card feeding mechanism. If desired, however, plungers 31may be provided with suitable buttons at their upper extremities andoperated directly. Magnets 33 and contacts 41 may then be dispensed withentirely.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, itwill be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changesin the form and details of the device illustratedand in its operationmay be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limitedonly as indicated by the scope of the following claims. What is claimedis as follows: 1. In averifying machine, means including a lightsensitive cell for sensing the index-point positions of a column of arecord card, card advancing mechanism, a thermionic tube, directcoupledto said cell to respond to the incidence of a predetermined amount oflight on the cell, a second thermionic tube capacity-coupled to saidcell to respond to a change in the amount of light incident'upon .thecell, verifying keys and means ,iointly controlled by said tubes andsaid keys for controlling the operation of said card advancingmechanism.

2. In a record verifying machine, ensensing station with means forsensing the presence of perforations in a record card column presentedto said station, a pair of relays, one of said relays being normallyenergized and the other normally deenergized, means controlled by saidsensing means, upon sensing a perforation for causing deenergization ofsaid normally energized relay, means for covering the perforation sensedto cause 'said sensing means to reenergize the normally energized relayand concurrently energize the normally deenergized relay, a magnet and acircuit for operating the same. completed jointly by said relays whenboth are concurrently energized. 3. The invention set forth in claim 2in which the energization of the normally deenergized relay'is momentaryand in which means is pro-'- vided for maintaining said magnet energizedafter the momentary energization of said last named relay.

4. The invention set forth in claim 2 in'which a signal circuit isprovided and completed conoperation of said relays causes interruptionor said signal circuit.

5. The invention set forth in claim 2 in which means is provided forlocking said perforation covering means inoperative position and inwhich means is provided and controlled by said relays for causingunlocking of said covering means. I

6. In a record verifying machine, a sensing station including a lightsensitive cell and an illuminating lamp, means for presenting a columnof a record card to said station whereupon light from the lamp will bereflected upon said cell through a perforation in an index pointposition of said column, a shutter, means for moving said shutter tocover said perforation and cut oil the light passing therethrough, meansfor latching said shutter in moved position and means controlled by saidcell when said light is cut off for causing removal of the column fromsaid sensing station and unlatching or said shutter.

7. In a record verifying machine, a sensing station including alightsensitive cell and an illuminating lamp, means for presenting arecord card column to said station whereupon a data designation in anindex'point position of said tion for causing removal of the column fromsaid sensing station and unlatching of said shutter.

8. In a record verifying machine, a light sensitive cell for sensing theindex point positions of a column of a record card, a plurality ofshutters,

one for each index point position, means for interposing one or more ofsaid shutters between said cell and said index point positions, a pairof thermionic tubes controlled by said cell, one of said tubes beingresponsive to the presence or absence of data. designations in saidpositions, the other being momentarily responsive to a change in theamount of light reflected upon the cell, escapement mechanism for therecord card and means controlled jointly by said tubes for controllingthe operation of said escapement mechanism.

RALPH L. PALMER.

